Attention male dancers! Ballet Fantastique is on a national audition search for a male company dancer for the 2013-2014 season. Please pass the information along! More info
ballet fantastique contemporary chamber company (in gorgeous eugene, oregon)
tales from a floating world (live japanese taiko drumming)
Contract includes three new contemporary ballet premieres each season, plus touring. Competitive pay by the week and benefits, including shoes, massage assistance, and full physical therapy. Also available: additional opportunities for paid outreach and teaching work.
Competitive applicants will have strong classical ballet and contemporary vocabularies, and confidence with soloist and pas de deux work. Applicants must be a US citizen (or hold a green card or work permit), and are preferably 5’9” and up. Audition by DVD or in person (contact us for more details).
Additional skills of interest (desired but not requisite): Choreography, arts education, arts administration, dance instruction (ballet, contemporary, modern, jazz, pas de deux, and/or hip-hop).
Well, we’re in the throes of Casanova (T minus 8 days to opening night).And ohmygoodness, this is FUN.
As a dancer and co-choreographer/producer, I’m feeling beautifully steeped in this decadent era (18th-century Venice). It’s just so full.
The words: In the process of creating this new ballet, Donna and I have been reading biographies of Giacomo Casanova—as well as his own writings, of course. (Aside: Cad, yes—as mum says, “sometimes I feel like I need to take a shower after I read this stuff!”—but the man was a charming and intelligent writer. In fact, some of his lines were just so good that they inspired us to add a bit of narration in the “voice of Casanova” to the ballet, threading through his misadventures.) We’ve been reading about Venetian customs and Carnival, and dear friend and history buff Genna Speer also insisted that I read a slim little novel by Georgette Heyer, Powder and Patch, to pick up on some playful period details (highly recommended to our more serious audience members).
The music: We’ve been listening to endless concerti, both from composers we already knew and loved (e.g., the prolific Venetian Vivaldi is of course key to our ballet), and from those we were less familiar with, like Jean-Philippe Rameau. Underpinning every decision was to choose music that would sound familiar, that would resonate, but that wouldn’t sound too familiar. THERE IS NO RITZ CARLTON ELEVATOR MUSIC IN THIS BALLET. A bit of my favorite discoveries: We stumbled in a You Tube search across this AWESOME version of his “Rondeau des Indes Galantes” by the Louvre Symphony Orchestra with authentic period instruments (WATCH—it rocks). And some darn beautiful stuff that won’t make it into this ballet (e.g., the piano duo Anderson and Roe’s haunting arrangement of Vivaldi’s “Sento in seno ch’in pioggia di lagrime”/”A rain of tears“—if you haven’t listened to it yet, do), but that we’re filing away for a later project. Even now, with our ballet score long-chosen, I’m listening to baroque music incessantly (e.g., literally right now), since I’m a snob about having perfect intermission music. In short, the music from this era and from our Casanova score alike are so gorgeous that I can’t stop listening. You just can’t get sick of it. The downside is that this is our one ballet this season without live music, but the upside is that it would be a little hard to get the Louvre Orchestra or four harpsichords on stage at the Soreng; the experience we’re building is a total immersion in how stunningly lovely—and genius—music was during this time.
See the rounded shape of Alanna’s arm in this shot from Giovanni Bruni’s pas de deux with Paulina (Casanova has just swooped in and is plotting his next move.) Photo: Steph Urso Photography
The movement: We’ve been studying baroque dance steps and watching authentic re-stagings of early ballet movement (recommended: Le RoiDanse). We’ve enlisted the help of a number of experienced fencers for our dance-duel scenes with single rapier. (Yes, I have BRUISES—this stuff is hard.) Donna and I are fiercely committed to challenging the company to have exquisitely nuanced musicality and especially arms and hands, and she’s making explicit decisions about some of the aesthetics, for example, there is very little traditional elongee in Casanova (where the dancer extends his/her arm, palm down); instead, she’s having us invert all of these shapes with palms up in a more traditional baroque style. There are cabrioles up the wazoo (this step was a big deal back then), and we don’t use as much epaulement with our feet, though there’s lots with our upper body. The movement has twist and is all about arms, so as a dancer, my body is LOVING it.
Ok, so we probably can’t get this kind of height, bu the idea is what we’re going for…
The costumes/set: Then, there’s the costumes…we’ve been studying fashion of the time (see our Casanova Pinterest page to peruse the designers’ inspiration board). The costumes are maybe the most gorgeous we’ve ever created (see a sneak peek on our Facebook page)—they are a contemporary spin on “baroque.” So, for example, we have these drop-dead cascading lace sleeves that fall from the elbow, but instead of connecting at the shoulder, they’re independent pieces that start at the women’s biceps so that we have more free movement. Then the skirts are built on a basic tutu from our professional costumer in LA, Primadonna, which we decided to do in ivory as if it’s a petticoat. Onto these tutu bases, demi-”bustles” are being overlaid, each woman’s slightly different, to get the dramatic curve out at the waist but without a floor-length skirt to get in the way of our dancing. We’ve been on the hunt in Springfield antique stores for the perfect jewels for Casanova’s women, making our Casanova (Elijah Labay) practice in his wig to make sure that his new ponytail doesn’t get taken off in any of our lifts, and using our hair extensions that were the beehives for Cinderella to build the ladies’ hair higher in a style evocative of baroque, but again, still danceable. All I can say is bless Allison Ditson, Rita Perini Vance, Katie Liane, and Beth Scott for their incredible, incredible artistry.
In sum, we’ve got gold paint on our hands (furniture that had to get taken up a notch), baroque music in our ears, and Casanova on our mind…
BFan intern Kristen here again! Whether the trend began with Sarah Jessica Parker’s character in Sex and the City or fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, ballet style is mainstream and as lovely as ever. Some of us may not be ballet dancers, but at least we can bring some ballet inspiration to our wardrobe!
I took the challenge to find the most fabulous, ballet-inspired, ready to wear, and versatile clothes on the market, and below are my top five:
ONE: I love this ballet-inspired dress from ASOS offered in three colors: black, green, and red. The fabric and bodice cut both have a leotard feel, with the tight gathers and wrapped shape.
THREE: Ruche launched an entire collection, En Pointe, based on ballet fashion. I absolutely adore this watercolor floral dress from that line! We may not have stage lights, but this fabric has a sheen and nuance to it that would look great in any light. It’s just decadent.
FOUR & FIVE: The clothing company Shabby Apple has created numerous tulle pleated skirts that say, “whimsical.” The white and black polka dot skirt on the left is the High Tea Skirt, and the lovely blue skirt on the right is the Music Hall Skirt. They both promise to float with the graceful play of a dancer’s skirt, and the double layers (underskirt and a tulle overskirt) on the latter are totally ballet-esque. Love.
Are you as enamored with ballet fashion as I am? What are some of your favorite ballet-inspired items?
p.s. Tune in next week for glimpses into our costume designs for our upcoming show, The Misadventures of Casanova! Let me just say that the sketches and fabric swatches I’ve seen so far are just stunning…think a high fashion contemporary spin on “baroque.” Fashionistas, prepare yourselves!
Event Coordinator Intern, Kristen here again! This last weekend, we had a splendid performance by our Academy dancers in the Home for the Holidays jazzy ballet concert at the Wildish Theater. After the performance I interviewed three very talented ladies, Brenna (age 5), Naomi (age 10 1/2), and Emily W. (age 22).
Brenna, age 5
BFan: What was your favorite part of the performance? B: The Whole Thing!!!
BF: Were you nervous? B: No
BF: What did you do to calm your nerves? B: I smiled!
BF: What do you love most about ballet? B: Because I get to go to performances.
Naomi, age 10.5
BF: How often would you dance in a day or week? N: About four days a week.
BF: What are your favorite steps/moves to perform? N: I love a lot of them, but I would have to say jumps, pas de bourrée, and frappé!
BF: What gives you inspiration to train so hard? N: Seeing the older girls gives me inspiration. They are so good, I want to be like them.
Emily W., age 22
BF: What are the most important things you do to get ready for a performance? E: One, obviously warm up, so I do not pull something on stage. Two, I always take a moment to breathe, to just avoid the noise and loudness.
BF: How long have you been dancing and when did you start? E: Hmm, about 9 years ago, if I am doing the math right. I started my freshman year of high school.
BF: What is the hardest thing about ballet? E: For me personally, to get my arms correct. In ballet, you need to have a fluid line. It is not just one position to achieve, that is the hardest for me.
We’re proud of you, ladies! Great work on stage up there.
It’s BFan Events Coordinator intern Kristen here. Not sure what to get your loved one for the holidays this season? Look no further than your local contemporary ballet company, Ballet Fantastique for a gift that’s unique, fun, local, and a double-whammy…you get to give it now, and enjoy it later. :)
Here are my top five gift ideas to put a smile on pretty much anyone’s face:
Tickets to The Misadventures of Casanova! Come see this new contemporary ballet premiere with lush costumes, decadent music, romance and intrigue making the way to the stage at the Hult center this coming February 2 and 3, 2013! It’s two-in-one: holiday gift and Valentine’s event wrapped up in one.
While you’re at it, you might want to consider making a bigger bang for your buck with a Ballet Fantastique Season Subscription for the rest of our 2012-2013: VENTURE lineup (The Misadventures of Casanova and Pride & Prejudice: A Parisian Jazz Ballet with live jazz!). Your pro-rated (read: discounted) season subscription will include tickets to the remaining two contemporary ballet premieres at the Hult Center, free Open Barre pass (for preview rehearsal/wine tasting reception at the City Center for Dance), additional savings from the community, and more VIP treatment! BFan’s last three productions sold out, so a season subscription also guarantees that you’ll get seats. These start at just $50 each, for all these goodies (and $24 for kids). Read more about the perks and get ‘em now here.
Know someone who has always wanted to try something new—or who loved ballet and been wanting to get back into it? Or been talking about whipping into shape as a new year’s resolution? How about a Class Card for Ballet Fantastique’s hoppin’ Adult Drop-In Program? Class times are convenient, class cards don’t expire for a whole year, and teacher Leanne Mizzoni from Washington, DC is rumored to be absolutely incredible. Get a class card online for one, 10, or 20 classes and get the dance party started.
Do you have a little one pulling on your heart strings? A daughter/son or niece/nephew? Try a gift certificate to our Young Dancer Program (ages 4+) or our Training Division (ages 7-preprofessional) as a gift. Fill out this little form and Hannah or Emily will get back to you right away to get you outfitted with a pretty gift certificate to wrap up.
Adopt a Dancer—give the gift of a scholarship to a young dancer giving him or her the opportunity to study professional dance right alongside his or her more privileged peers. A certificate for your lucky recipient will outline the difference being made in the life of a youngster, thanks to you!
But above all, remember to enjoy this holiday season with the ones you love! Happy holidays from our BFan family to yours.
Job opening: Male contemporary ballet dancer for Ballet Fantastique
Ballet Fantastique Contemporary Chamber Company is hiring a male soloist dancer beginning as early as January 2013 and as late as July 2013 (start date negotiable) for a full contract of 30 weeks of paid work including three new contemporary ballet premieres plus national/international touring as scheduled, with competitive pay by the week and benefits, including shoe allowance, physical therapy and massage assistance. Contract also includes additional opportunities for paid outreach and teaching work.
We seek a new company member with talent, strength, artistic voice, a great work ethic and sense of humor, personality, and an insatiable appetite for what’s next. Competitive applicants will have strong classical and contemporary vocabularies, and confidence with pas de deux work. Applicants must be a US citizen (or hold a green card or work permit), and are preferably 5’9” and up.
Additional skills of interest (desired but not requisite): Choreography, arts education, arts administration, dance instruction (ballet, contemporary, modern, jazz, pas de deux, and/or hip-hop).
After the amazing success of our last performance Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet, we thought it would be great to bring back guest blogger Megan Hobbs to tell you all what she thought of this one-of-a-kind performance. Megan is a huge fan of Ballet Fantastique (she was lucky enough to catch both shows) and seems to sum up perfectly what it’s like to be sitting in the audience at one of our shows. So without further ado, here are Megan’s thoughts on Ballet Fantastique’s latest performance (and as always, feel free to share your thoughts with us as well–we love hearing from you!)
THOUGHTS ON BALLET FANTASTIQUE’S CINDERELLA: A ROCK OPERA BALLET FROM MEGAN HOBBS:
Almost everyone knows the story of Cinderella, but I’m willing to bet you’ve never seen it brought to life quite like the recent performance by Ballet Fantastique. In this creative new take on the classic fairytale set in Sunnydale, California in 1964, the stepmother and stepsisters sport adorable polka-dot dresses and bouffant hairdos. They learn to dance the “mashed potato” and dream of marrying the prince to the tune of “Mr. Sandman.” The dancers’ performance was packed with oomph and style, and made the audience sit up and pay attention from the time the chords to the first song were played. This was Cinderella with attitude.
One of the many unique aspects of this show was the collaboration between the dancers and the live band that accompanied them onstage, The Agents of Unity. It is actually difficult to say who accompanied whom, because the musicians shined just as much as the dancers did. These two extremely talented groups complimented one another perfectly, creating a palpable energy that could be felt by the audience and the performers alike. Throughout the performance, Eugene’s Ambassador for the Arts, Fred Crafts, narrated the story by acting as radio DJ and announcing the goings-on in Sunnydale.
The show opened with “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” where the stepsisters, played with plenty of personality by Ashley Bontrager and Krislyn Wessel, fought over a cute scarf and ordered Cinderella around. The back-and-forth sister relationship was hilarious, and the two teased and picked on each other while still dancing gracefully on pointe. Meanwhile, Cinderella twirled around them with a mop, danced by Allana Fisher. Fisher’s stage presence fit the character of “Cindy” perfectly: all her movements were smooth, poised, and demure. I was also amazed at her endurance by the end of the show, as she was in nearly every piece. Next, enter Amelia Unsicker with a martini glass and a shimmy, in the part of Cindy’s stepmother. As always, Unsicker brought tons of attitude and flair with her onto the stage and got a lot of laughs from the audience with her antics. She did a great impression of a 1960’s housewife, alternately flouncing and stumbling (again, always gracefully) around the stage. She held her martini glass in one hand and a long cigarette holder in the other, primping and pushing her daughters at the prince anytime she got the chance.
The band fired up “You Can’t Hurry Love” by the Supremes while the fairy godmother of Sunnydale (Leanne Mizzoni) convinced the prince (Fredrick Davis, Dance Theatre of Harlem) to hold a ball to help find his dream girl. Mizzoni danced with precision and energy and Davis looked the perfect part for the handsome prince as he took many effortless turns around the stage. In the next scene an expert from “Dancing Divas Inc.” went door to door to teach the town how to dance. The instructor was played by none other than Hannah Bontrager in a fluffy blonde Marilyn Monroe-esque wig, who brought pizazz to the stage with her groovy “new” move, the mashed potato. The stepsisters tried to learn it unsuccessfully, while Cindy picked it up immediately.
In a very cool rendition of “Tell Him” by Billie Davis, Mizzoni and her two “Fairy Godmother’s Boys” played by Justin Feimster and Gianluca Paparo, brought Cindy a beautiful gown for the ball. When everyone arrived at the dance, H. Bontrager and Elijah Labay (NW Dance Project) entered in leather jackets and tight pants (and pointe shoes for H. Bontrager) in a style reminiscent of Greasers crashing the prom. They danced to “Wild Thing” with choreography inspired by Twyla Tharp. Both dancers performed with so much charisma and stage presence that the entire audience was transfixed. Cindy and the prince danced the night away to the Crystals and the Drifters until the clock struck the magical hour of midnight and Cindy lost her glass slipper, or in this case her pointe shoe.
The last part of the show was very entertaining—the stepsisters and stepmother tried to make Cindy’s slipper fit on one of their feet to the tune of “My Boyfriend’s Back” and the prince finally realized Cindy had been under his nose the whole time. The whole company then came together onstage for a final group dance featuring the twist, the mashed potato and jive steps. The lovers were then featured one more time in the encore to the tune of “Be my Baby” by the Ronettes. The dancers and musicians received an enthusiastic standing ovation at each of their two sold-out performances, and I don’t think I am alone in saying that I liked Ballet Fantastique’s version better than the original.
This past weekend, I attended the Ballet Fantastique original production of Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet set in 1964. This was the last performance I will see as an intern with Ballet Fantastique, and I could not be more sad. This show’s creativity and entertainment, though, has solidified my lifelong love of Ballet Fantastique.
In a word, Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet was amazing—I loved watching this traditional fairytale with its little (or big!) Bontrager twist. Mother-daughter team Hannah and Donna Bontrager chose the story of Cinderella to preform for their final show of the season but changed things up by setting the story in 1964. They selected a variety of 1960’s hits to be played live during the performances by the local group Shelley and Cal James and their band (created especially for Cinderella), Agents of Unity. The inclusion of live music is a signature of Ballet Fantastique, and for Cinderella, ithelped to create a high level of energy that captivated me through out the show. My favorite song was their rendition of “Wild Thing,” to which Shelley added her own new melody. By Donna and Hannah’s request, the song’s original length was stretched from 2.5 minutes to almost five, including dueling guitar solos played by band members Cal James (see photo) and Joe Weber.
The two lead dancers in the performance were incredible. Ballet Fantastique company dancer Alanna Fisher played the role of Cinderella, and Fredrick Davis (from Dance Theater of Harlem) was cast as Prince Charming. Alanna and Fredrick had great chemistry as a duet and both possessed a special presence that entranced the crowd. Fredrick was in Eugene for only two weeks learning Donna and Hannah’s choreography, and appeared in nine out of the show’s fourteen pieces. But this limited preparation time (dancers usually have between 4–6 weeks to learn and rehearse original choreography before a performance) was not evident in his performance. He danced beautifully across the stage and captivated audiences with his artistry and presence.
I spoke with Hannah about her experiences of working with Fredrick for this past show. “It was such an honor to work with a dancer of Fred’s caliber,” said Hannah. “He dove right into our original choreography and made it his own! What an exciting first for us to bring to Eugene audiences.”
I could not help but noticing the effect this show had on the rest of the audience. During intermission, fellow intern Ursi Wagner and I commented on how audience members young and old were singing songs and raving about the performance of the cast. The energy the dancers exuded was contagious.
“I’ve never seen a ballet that had audiences out of their seats with excitement like Ballet Fantastique’s Cinderella,” said Ursi. “The live music and 60s inspired dancing was an electrifying way to end their daring season.”
While I have loved all of the shows that Ballet Fantastique has put on this season, Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet was definitely my favorite. It defied any pre-conceptions I had about ballet being a stringent form of dance. I liked how the show was able to use traditional ballet choreography with modern music and a big twist. After this show, I am even more intrigued to see what the Bontragers will craft up in the 2012-2013 VENTURE season. Guess I will have to wait and see what the talented Ballet Fantastique team will conjure up next year!
PS: If you want the best deals and the best seats for Ballet Fantastique’s 2012–2013 season, VENTURE, click here! http://1.usa.gov/iNfOWL
And we’re down to the single digits, only FIVE days left until show time! This will probably be the last “top five” before the world premiere of Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet Set in 1964, seeing as how the dancers, choreographers and band will be hard at work all week working on final preparations before the big show. Fred (who will be dancing the role of Prince Charming) from the Dance Theatre of Harlem is here learning all his choreography, costumes are being put together, props are being assembled and all the while, everyone is dancin’ around the studio to sixties music that we can’t get out of our head. This week we’re hearing from Ashley Bontrager, who is dancing the role of a stepsister, on her top five reasons why if you haven’t already, you need to buy a ticket for this show! But like always, let’s get to know a little more about Ashley before you hear her top five’s…
Ashley, who is from Eugene, Oregon, has studied classical ballet since she was four years old! She has trained at Buffalo City Ballet, the Conservatory of Classical Dance, Ballet Fantastique and the University of Oregon, where she also graduated with a BA in Journalism-Broadcasting. Ashley has been with BFan since 2000 and has danced numerous roles during that time. Her favorite however, was when she danced the role of Wanda, the floozy in Love at the Cafe Terrace. Some of her favorite things are cheese, cabernet sauvignon and BBC’s Pride and Prejudice, and here are her top five reasons why you NEED to see Cinderella this weekend…
5. This is a show you can watch with your parent’s generation, as well as targeting the younger crowd. It has the top hits from the 60s (i.e. your mom will dance her socks off to it, if you give her the gift of a ticket for mom’s day) and you won’t be bored watching it, because we’ve made it fresh and new!!
4. You can tell the band and the dancers vibe off one another, and we’ve made a show that is only stronger because we have each other onstage!
3. For those of you who love to laugh, there’s no reason you won’t be during the show
2. Although we are a ballet company, known for our classical technique, our choreography for this show is definitely contemporary-imagine the mashed potato on pointe shoes!!
1. We’ve done our best to stay true to the 60s hairdos, perhaps we’ll bring back bouffants!!
Once again, I’m convinced. Thanks Ashley! This definitely isn’t going to be your average ballet. Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet Set in 1964 will make you laugh, keep you dancing in your seat, show you moves that you’ve never seen on pointe shoes and take you back to the 60s all at once! Tickets are going fast so make sure you get them soon! http://www.balletfantastique.org/company/events.php
I can’t believe there’s only 11 days left until the curtain is raised at the world premiere of Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet Set in 1964! I’ve had the pleasure of seeing bits and pieces of rehearsal, and it is definitely going to be an unforgettable show. This week we’re hearing from Justin Feimster, Ballet Fantastique company dancer, who is going to give you five more reasons why you need to come see it. But before you trust him on why you should buy a ticket, let’s get to know a little bit about him…
Justin graduated with a BA in Theatre Production from Valdosta State University in 2009, while at the same time he was attending dance classes and performing with Dance Arts, Inc. He has been in the Nutcracker several times, dancing various roles, and was even the Nutcracker Prince! He’s been with Ballet Fantastique since 2011, and his favorite role was when he danced the part of Ollie in As You Like It: A Wild West Ballet. While he’s not dancing, Justin loves hiking and scuba diving and his favorite movie is Lord of the Rings. He can’t wait for this unique performance of Cinderella, and here are his top five reasons why you need to see it:
5. LIVE MUSIC!It’s a concert and a show all wrapped into one!
4. Beautiful dancers,these girls work hard and are a pleasure to watch!
3. Supporting local artistic expression! Without support from the community, the artistic world will dry up, and without art this world is a lot colder.
2. Our version of Cinderella is A LOT of fun, and anyone of any age will enjoy the choreography!
1. It’s all original! We don’t work off pre-set moves that have been around for years. We make it all new, every time!
Well said Justin! All-original choreography, a rockin’ concert and supporting the local arts…sounds like a great night out on the town! (Or a perfect mother’s day outing.)
